Bothy Restaurant, The

Another new entrant in the Glasgow eating-out stakes just as my sister-in-law heads permanently for open country in the Borders. She would be as mesmerised as I am to find that the famous Irn-Bru has spawned a sorbet. Is nothing safe from these high-rising chefs? Not a lot it seems, particularly in a place where arguably ruris in urbis flourishes and the kilt is as much in evidence as the ad-man's hand-cut suit. Whatever the social mix it goes with a swing which, coupled with incredibly reasonable prices keeps the sporran well secure and faces cheerful all round.

I read recently that haggis was inspired and first created by the French. At The Bothy they deep-fry the stuff! In Scotland, of course, where they cheer on the French when they play the English at rugby - or anything - this is not a problem, but for a dyed in the wool Sassanach/haggis-loving/closet Scot it presents a bit of a dilemma, somewhat akin to Irn-Bru sorbet in fact.

With starters of Lewis scallops, reekit (well-dressed to you and me) salmon, and classic Scotch broth you are left in no doubt about where we are. That's reinforced by main dishes of barefit stovies (meatless), those made from meat are referred to as 'high-heelers' - get it? On a more serious note there's char-grilled aged black and gold rib-eye steak, served with chips, not a salad or roast potato in sight. On Sundays they do a roast at under £10 from noon till 6 pm.

Meanwhile, down in the puddings department they are slaving away over Aunt Ann's Famous Scottish Trifle which even in a country where cholesterol is a life-style, is a bit rich. No matter, there's always the famous cranachan, with its equally lethal ingredients, slightly compromised by the inclusion of healthy things like raspberries and oatmeal which may account for the fact that it is rumoured to be almost totally ignored in the country of its origin, except by tourists who fondly think they are living like the natives.

I firmly believe The Bothy has a great future - it has a mature approach to the Union, the Scottishness is there, the food is fantastic and the atmosphere combines sophistication with all the liveliness of a Sauchiehall Street pub of the last century, minus the aggression.

Reviewed by Michael Tebbutt